Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. (MPHH), a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) submitted an application for IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, September 4.

The primary offer is comprised of 35,821,919 common shares and a secondary offer of 381,271,010 common shares with an overallotment option of up to 40,771,095 common shares to be listed on the Main Board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

At a maximum price of P182 per share, Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings expects to raise P6.5 billion from the primary offer in gross proceeds for investments in additional hospitals, cancer centers, clinics and new healthcare businesses. The fund will also be used for additional investments in the group's existing hospitals to support their growth as well as for general corporate purposes.

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According to the prospectus submitted to the SEC, assuming full exercise of the overallotment option, the total proceeds for MPIC will be P75.1 billion.

The move comes as a surprise considering that as recently as May, MPIC had all but abandoned its plan to list MPHH in the stock exchange.

A Reuters report last August 16 said Manny Pangilinan-led MPIC, which has interests in power, water, tollways, logistics and others, had planned to sell up to 40 percent of its stake in MPHH, which it valued at $2 to $2.5 billion. Reuters said that would make it the country’s biggest healthcare deal.

Hospitals under MPHH include Makati Medical Center, Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, and 10 others in Metro Manila and in the provinces.

MPHH also runs primary care clinics and cancer centers in addition to the hospitals.

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According to the prospectus, the offer period will start on November 18 and will last until November 22. The offer shares will be listed and traded under the trading symbol HOSP.

Merrill Lynch (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., CLSA Limited, J.P. Morgan Securities plc and UBS AG Singapore have been appointed joint international bookrunners for the offer, while First Metro Investment Corporation is lead domestic coordinator.